Sunday, 27 April 2025

Logitech Keys-To-Go 2 Bluetooth Keyboard

Logitech make some nice accessories and this dinky little keyboard is no exception. It doesn't fold, but for the travelling word-cruncher, it's otherwise pretty perfect I reckon. It's beautifully made, has button batteries to last a person up to 3 years, a fold-over cover which doubles up as a stand/prop and will work nicely with Windows, ChromeOS, Android, iOS, iPadOS and MacOS. What's not to like!

The RRP of the keyboard is £79.99 here in the UK but I was able to pick it up on an Amazon Prime day for £65. Here's my affiliate link in case you'd like to get one. I thank you. Even at full price I still say it's worth it as it's so nice to use. You can deep-dive on all the details at Logitech's Website but I shall give a flavour here of what it's like to use in the real world. In order to get the reduced price I had to buy the Pale Grey version, which is very Apple'ish, but there's also Graphite (black) and a lovely looking Lilac one if you fancy something different.

The packaging is 'responsible', from eco-friendly, controlled sources and it's pretty minimalist. Inside the box you get the keyboard, wrapped in some sort of nice papery stuff, some legal mumbo-jumbo and a small leaflet with basic instructions which you might want to keep for reference as it depicts some hot/function key switch combinations with different operating systems. The plastics and aluminium used for the keyboard itself are also partly recycled - amount depending on colour.

In the box you get 2 x CR2032 batteries, already installed (activated by removing a plastic pull-out) via a removable panel on the rear face. It's slim but perfectly formed there and the tray works well. Only trouble is that users need a Torx T5 screwdriver to get it out. The good news is that you have (up to) 3 years to get hold of one! Yes, these two button-batteries allegedly run for that kind of time, based on, Logitech say, continuous typing for 2 hours per day. Fingers crossed, then! The K-series Logitech keyboards have AA/AAA batteries onboard, generally, so easier grab and install, but certainly not lasting as long - and this keyboard is not even the thickness of an AAA battery, so that would compromise the size anyway. On the back there's a simple on/off slider switch which is firm and positive in use.

The built-in flap cover/stand/prop is magnetically connected at the lip end when covering the keys for transport/storage and when open, flapped around the back. It has some sort of plastic-looking flexible 'hinge' which enables the 360-degree turn and a small 'lip' to pull it open. The magnet is decently strong on both sides. When you sweep it around the back it forms a subtle 'wedge' shape which raises the back very slightly for easier typing - but there's not much in it! More important that it's attached - and users won't lose it or leave it behind.

The keyboard itself is light at 222g, made from hard plastic and the brackets inside, apparently, is where the aluminium is. It feels sturdy, solid and with very little 'flex' when pushed. The keys are lovely chiclet-style, scissor-switch with short (1mm) travel when pressed. There's no audible 'click' when pressed but there is a 'click' to be felt in the finger as each key reaches the bottom of the travel. It's a nice typing experience and I'd guess that it's about 60% full size (the firm don't quote this data). There's 18mm between the centre of the keys to the next (pitch). But yes, you'd need a pretty big pocket to get this in! More likely in a bag or briefcase would be the target I think. A folding version would be perfect, but no doubt that would come with its own compromises.

In terms of key layout, you get the usual Logitech 3 Bluetooth buttons to assign to 3 devices at any one time (and switch on-the-fly once set up) and they work in the usual excellent way by long-pressing, invoking your device's BT set-up and pairing, which anyone reading this has likely done 1,000 times by now! Across the top there's a row of Function keys (F1-12 when used for desktop) which can also be used as hotkeys for shortcuts. Volume, Brightness, Emoji, Play/Pause for media and so on. Whether or not these work with your device will be a bit of trial and error. On my tests here, they seem to, but that leaflet I referred to earlier gives hotkey combinations to ensure that the message gets through to the OS of choice. So fn-G for Android, fn-P for Windows, fn-O for Mac and fn-C for ChromeOS.

There's also a Logitech Options+ app which can be downloaded for Windows/Mac which allows for finer control of the top row of keys, even assigning Smart Actions to them, which gives a near limitless list of options, app-specific, workflow stuff, smarter system, keystrokes, combining actions - think Elgato Stream Deck with Macro functions galore. It all seems to be well thought-out, though I guess most people using this will have their desktop computer keyboard already sorted and not likely to bother with all this, there. Nice to have the options though for those who wish to tinker.

So yes, armed with a (perhaps Logitech Pebble - affiliate link) Mouse, whatever device you're using, you can whip them all out of your bag on a plane or train - or even at home on the dining room table, for example - and quickly set up one's work station without having to fiddle about with onscreen keyboards getting in the way - getting productive and entering text as it has always meant to be done since the invention of the typewriter - by keyboard!

It really is a beautiful little accessory, perfect for the right user who is most likely travelling with a bag or briefcase, as I say. No worries about battery life or charging things up - apart from once every 3 years - it'll just work. Highly recommended and gorgeous to use.

Tuesday, 22 April 2025

Dead Mail (2024)

This 80's style thriller is currently showing on Shudder and it's about Josh who is a keyboard engineer of sorts, working his magic on a Moog-type synthesiser and trying to break new ground in what sounds it can produce. He's at some kind of demo/event when he's approached by Trent (our Mr Fruit-loop for the duration) who asks if he'll go into partnership with him. Trent has the money to buy all the latest tools and Josh, the expertise.

Lured by the offer of a decent workshop and means to further his work, Josh goes to Trent's home and sets up a workshop, where he gets to work. All's going well until Trent discovers a letter that Josh has received, offering him a job in Japan with Yamaha. They talk about it and it's clear that Josh wants to go. He's sorry to leave Trent in the lurch but the offer is too good to turn down. This is not part of Trent's gameplan, so he locks Josh up in his basement and forces him to work.

The film starts with a flash-forward so it's no spoiler to tell you that Josh gets a bloody letter out into the postbox outside Trent's house appealing for help as he has been held hostage but is grabbed in the process by Trent, but just too late. Then the story gets picked up in the local sorting office for post, specifically Dead Mail department as it wasn't addressed, where the letter is found and although the staff don't really take it seriously, one does, then another, and the detection (without any help from the police) story begins to unfold. Meanwhile, Trent is on a mission to retrieve the letter before any harm is done to his plan - and will take no prisoners in the process!

The timeline skips about quite a lot during the first half of the film, but during the remainder, the gaps get filled in, references to the lopped timeline fall into place and it starts to portray a chronological one by two-thirds through. It ends up being quite gripping in its own way, so don't give up in the first half as the characters in the story are richly portrayed and acting from the cast very good.

It comes across as a low-budget outing (and perhaps it was) but I rather think that it was more that effort was made to make it a period-piece, before automation, computers, mobile phones - where digital detection was most likely via a dial-up modem and nerd sitting in front of text-based old monitors, where the sorting office staff try to get help tracking down Josh and Trent. So yes, hang in there through the slow delivery and you'll feel satisfied by the end with some suspense at the tail of this decent story, well told.

Contrary to what the credits would have you believe it's not a true story, but made to feel so, Coen Brothers style! I don't know any of the people involved in the creation and delivery of this film - Joe DeBoer, Kyle McConaghy, Sterling Macer Jr., John Fleck or Tomas Boykin but I reckon they've done a decent job between them and it's well worth a watch if you can get to it.

Thursday, 17 April 2025

Moto AI (2025)

Motorola have really upped their game with AI recently, clearly trying to play catch-up to Samsung, Google and others. They are clearly working in partnership with Google on many features on their smartphones, evidenced by the speed at which some of them roll out, some even before Pixels! So I thought I'd blog my thoughts and observations.

My Razr 50 received the Android 15 update this week (who'd have thought 12 months ago that Moto would be ahead of Samsung in this respect, with the OneUI 7 fiasco still in full swing out of South Korea!) and it's been littered with improvements as well as bolstering out the AI offerings, some of which are very useful, and the Smart Connect suite, surpassing Samsung's DeX now, which I'll come to. Last October I did summarise Smart Connect here on my blog, much of which remains valid.

First things first though and Always on Display - hurrah for Moto as they make this available on my Razr on the inside screen now as well as (previously available) the external one. Always a slight irritation that in order to get the AoD working, the flip had to be closed. Now it works on both. Particularly useful when using Smart Connect on the Desktop connected to a PC or Tablet as when the flip is closed, Smart Connect doesn't, er, connect! The Always on Display on the inside screen looks pretty much a replica of the one we see on the Motorola Edge 50 Neo. Great.

The next thing people would likely notice is the redesigned App Drawer (for those who wish to use it), dubbed the News App Tray. Here, they have added three tabs across the top, the first being Apps (so the usual view/functions), secondly a Newsfeed which (presumably) learns from how you interact with it (though it doesn't say that - just invites the user to select categories of interest) and serves up news content. A bit like Google's Feed to the left of the homescreen on Pixel (and others) except that Google's version gives the user more accept/reject options (and allegedly does learn from choices - though I've not seen much evidence of it working ever)!

The third tab is Journal, which seems to be a bit like what Nothing Phone are doing with their Essential Key/Service. Wherever you are or whatever you're doing on the phone, you can tap the Moto AI button (which I'll come to) and it saves a record of what you're looking at/doing so you can go back later and have, well, a collection of stuff you wanted to 'save'. Remember This, then, offers Photo, Screenshot or Text. Photo lets you take a photo, it then 'processes' it and gives you a paragraph AI-generated description of what it thinks it is. There's also an OCR option inside this view which, again, lets you take a photo which it then plucks the text from and offers copy/share. You can also generate a Summary which, again, gives a paragraph describing what you shot. All of this, then saved and available as reference later.

If you click on Screenshot, it will, again, take a screenshot, invite you to add a text note, then summarise whatever the screenshot is. On initial testing it does this pretty well, but these are early days! The last option in Remember This is to save a Text Note - so yes, simply that. Make a note (as one might in Google Keep for example) for reference later. All this, is then added to the Journal for later use. You can get back to the Moto AI features via an (optional) on-screen floating button, via the App Tray (as described above) or you can set up the power button if you want for a double-press to invoke it all. So that's pretty much what I have found with Remember This. None of it is universal cross-devices (like Google Keep is with a dedicated webpage for each user, for example) but when I come to Smart Connect you will see that there are plenty of options (that Nothing's Essential Service can't offer with their similar function) to share/copy and use elsewhere.

Next up is Magic Canvas. We've seen this before this Android 15 update, but I'll include it for completeness as it's part of the Moto AI suite now. Open up Magic Canvas from the Moto AI menu again, and you can type in a Description - pretty much whatever you like. It's not on-device, so any dodgy requests are refused but laying that aside it seems to do what is asked of it. I asked it for A chicken sitting on top of the Eiffel Tower reading a newspaper. You can see that it kind of has done that, though the tower is in the background. You can also request that it's done in various Styles from cartoon to pop-art and much between - some of which did do a better job and put the chicken on the tower at least! You can also ask for full-screen or square. You will see from the image that it adds a watermark saying that it's AI Generated. You can then save, share or copy the image (and remove the watermark if you like in another editor). Maybe of limited use to most folk beyond play-factor, but with my magazine-editor's hat on, I often need an image which is not going to be copyrighted, so it will be useful now and again.

When the Take Notes button is pressed the phone immediately launches an audio recorder which records whatever it hears, then attempts to transcribe it (taking about 20 seconds for a 20 second sample in my tests) and shows the result on the screen, followed by a Summary underneath. If you play it some music instead of speech, it tries the same trick with the lyrics being sung but results are hit and miss - depending very much on how clearly the singer is pronouncing their words. These audio recordings become available in the Journal, but I don't see a way to save the transcription or summary. A copy can be taken using the standard Android tools. I guess that's something they will add later.

Update Me
(which I think until this update was called Catch Me Up) is supposed to summarise notifications and missed calls. However, during my tests here, unless I'm doing something wrong, and with Notifications waiting, unread, I just get a message saying "You're all caught up on personal communication notifications". So I guess this is either a bug or some feature that needs adding yet.

Play a Game simply opens the Moto Game Hub, Record My Screen starts, er, recording the screen - which you can invoke by other means, so not sure why it's a part of the Moto AI suite - same for Scan this Document - a simple shortcut to another app - in this case the Moto-supplied Adobe Scan (which does actually have some useful tools), ditto Take a Portrait (though I guess it does launch the camera app in Portrait Mode), Same for Take a Video and Take a Selfie (which auto-invokes a 5-second countdown time before firing the shutter). To be fair, the buttons for the services in this paragraph are only accessible by opening up the extended menu onscreen - the four main ones (depicted above) and the ones always front/centre on invoking Moto AI.

At the foot of the screen when the Moto AI has been invoked, under the four-item menu/list, there's a Prompt Bar, which is also at the foot of the App Tray, looking suspiciously like a Google Search Bar, but with the Moto AI logo on the left, inviting the user to Ask or Search. It says that it's going off to use AI (of course) to answer any query. Seems to do a good enough job, but I can't help thinking that, unless it's tapping into Google's data, it can't be as good. I understand that Moto are doing some kind of deal with the AI Assistant service Perplexity, so maybe some or all of this is routed (already) that way. Anyway, for my basic queries it seems to do a good enough job for general information.

Incidentally, there also seems to be a whole bunch of other features/tools for Moto in Business (or whatever they call it) aimed at the Enterprise, lots of which stem from the Security hub and more useful for system administrators. Much like we saw with the ThinkPhone on launch, apparently hand-in-hand with Microsoft.

The Smart Connect Dashboard is a central hub where all a user's Moto Things can be added for central connectivity control. Looking a bit like Samsung's Wearable app's UI (or a Bluetooth front-end) there's controls to connect/disconnect and an overview of what's available along with battery data - but, like for Samsung and others, it's only for their own devices. Buds, Tablets, Computers, Moto Tags, Watches (not that Moto are very active in this area) and pretty much anything else from Moto - and I think to some degree, certainly in the enterprise space, Lenovo.

Smart Connect
is, as you can see from the above, much broader than Ready For used to be and takes in all sorts of seamless connections to all sorts of other Lenovorola gear. Much of the core functionality of Smart Connect is unchanged from my appraisal (linked above) but it now feels more inclusive as other Android phones are (shortly) going to be enabled to get in on the action, challenging Microsoft's Phone Link for computers for those who wish to use their phone on the Windows desktop setup, wired or wirelessly. Other OEM's phones won't get the full depth of what Moto users will, but that is also true of Phone Link.

Lastly, a special mention for those of us using a Moto flip phone. When you tap on the Notification button, bottom-left, you get a Moto AI "Update Me" button up-top, but again, as above, even with stuff waiting, I don't seem to actually get it, let along summaries or whatever. I think more work is needed and I'm sure it'll come. I think they've done well and this suite will also be on the new range of 60-series Moto phones, Fusion, Pro, Stylus, Ultra and so on.

Whatever you think about the onward surge of AI into our lives, it’s a really impressive effort here as we see how Moto are going aggressively after Samsung, Google and others in the space. For a person loving the whole Moto thing and baked into their devices/services, this is all becoming a well-thought-out and executed mobile-user's treat. Hopefully I haven't missed anything critical, but if so, let me know and I'll come back, test and add it. I've added a Google Photos Album with all my screenshots for anyone who wants a deeper dive.

Monday, 14 April 2025

La Jetée (1962)

Chris Maker's 28-minute film (well, series of still, black and white photos actually) tells the story of a man, slave, forced to travel through time for the good of his post-apocalyptic society to find a solution to the world's fate.


To replenish its decreasing stocks of food, medicine and energies, and in doing so, resulting in a perpetual memory of a lone female, life, death and past events that are recreated on an airport jetty. Apparently. It lost me!

Critics speak very highly of it, but this (apparently shallow) viewer found it all a bit of a bore, thankful it was only 28-minutes long in the end.

Lots of atmosphere sits behind the haunting music and narrator's tone, leading us through what the photos on rotation mean and what the story is about. Some, like me, it seems, found it hard to grasp. Anti-war science fiction and/or documentary kind of thing. Be interesting to see what other might think. It was apparently the driving influence for Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys (1995) which I did watch back in the day, but can't remember much about.

The reason this caught my eye however was because there's also 2073 (2024) doing the rounds which also nods heavily to this work, too. In 2073 the setting is New San Francisco and the scorched-earth, tech-dominant police state where democracy and personal freedom have been well and truly obliterated.

La Jetée is available to watch on YouTube if anyone fancies it - I'll link to it in the first comment. Or you can pay AppleTV £3.49 to watch it - because they need your money!

Saturday, 5 April 2025

Companion (2025)

If ever there was a film that viewers should not read/view reviews about, this is it! I would suggest that you go in as blind as possible for the unfolding story, surprises and twists. I shall tread very carefully here and keep it brief! it's creeping out to various streaming services now in the UK.

So, this Drew Hancock film really is a bit of a thrill-ride as we join Iris and Josh heading for a weekend away at a remote cabin joining friends. Kat is one of Josh's friends who lives at the cabin with Sergey and Eli and Patrick are there too, visiting, who are boyfriends. Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets) is the main character, Iris, here and the one the film follows most closely - and she plays it very well, having to be adaptable as the story races along at just the right pace.

Jack Quaid (The Hunger Games) is pretty much as good supporting the Iris character as Josh, similarly showing an adaptable approach as more is revealed and we get to know him. I'm treading very carefully now! There are thrills along the way at every turn, but not in a cheap jump-scares way - it's more subtle, intelligent, tense and suspenseful than that. There is some violence and gore, but not huge amounts and what's there is in keeping with the unfolding tale full of unexpected turns.

It's a film about relationships and how we have come to accept how they are, with thoughts about how they might look in the future, within a smartly constructed narrative here, as well as other, underlying thrills not much to do with relationships! I need to stop there really and just encourage you to go in as 'blind' as you can, prepared for an uneasy ride and much musing later when the credits have rolled and long gone.

The production values and cinematography is also worthy of note as is generally the performances of the players. Don't close your eyes or go and make a pot of tea for too long - there's much you need to be here for, to soak up the excellent atmosphere and tone of this eye-opener!

Friday, 4 April 2025

The Monkey (2025) - A Guest Review by Adrian Brain

This horror comedy, with the emphasis on gruesome but highly improbable accidents, had us smiling all the way from the cinema to the pub, where we discussed the most brutal deaths with a sense of juvenile glee.

The plot centres around a creepy clockwork monkey inherited by twin boys from their father. They soon realise that by winding up the monkey, someone nearby will die in a horrible accident when the monkey beats its drum. Traumatised, the kids decide to throw the monkey down a well. Years later, the monkey returns and the murderous mayhem continues.

The adult twins are both played by Theo “The Gentlemen” James, one seriously and the other comedically, capturing the split nature of the movie. It is a cut above your usual death by numbers fodder, such as the “Final Destination” series (though the very last frame is a huge nod to that series). It is in no way scary, all the accidents are flagged up well in advance so you can enjoy them fully. The camera even shows us the objects that will do the damage - the movie’s opening shot is of a very pointy harpoon, for example. It is smartly paced - just as you are tiring of it, the film ramps up the mayhem dramatically, so much so that you even get an appearance of Death on his white horse in the final reel.

Fundamentally, the film is about the random nature of life and death, clearly a subject close to director Osgood Perkins (son of Anthony “Psycho” Perkins), and the mantra is repeated through the film, just in case we missed it. Far from the most subtle of movies, but it is a good laugh if you like this genre.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)

This is doing the rounds on a few streaming platforms and I launched into it not knowing anything about the background (that I remember), nor that I should have probably watched the 2008 film first, nor that this is the first of a trilogy. Must pay more attention!

The reviews on IMDb generally slate this film, but actually I thought it was OK. It was quite suspenseful getting into the heads of the victims of apparently much mindless terrorism by 3 masked intruders.

The story is that two chirpy, happy-go-lucky young adults very much in love are heading off on holiday in their car, they stop in a rural village/town for lunch and while they're having it, some local loops sabotage their car. They can't prove it of course, but are pretty much forced into taking up another local's offer of an AirBNB nearby (while the car is fixed). In the middle of the woods. Isolated. Alone. Dark.

During the night the three hoods, with hoods on(!) go about their onslaught. There's not actually a huge amount of violence - most of it is perceived and, as I say, the tension and suspense at times is handled well. The two leads, especially the girl, I thought were very convincing, not for one minute looking like a tongue was in a cheek. Madelaine Petsch plays Maya and Jeff Morell, Ryan.

It's all very dark and menacing but ultimately pretty mindless with no real motive by anyone for what is going on. It's worth hanging about for the credits, incidentally, because there's a fair bit in them. Even when you think there's no more! I enjoyed it. But it seems I'm alone!

Thursday, 3 April 2025

Lady in a Cage (1964)

They're trying so hard to make this 60's thriller Hitchcockian, but it just misses. Olivia De Havilland plays the most annoying wealthy woman you could imagine (so much so that you end up siding with the hoods - but more of that in a minute). She completely overacts like (probably) the drama queen she was (as an actress) and the film is held together more by the young James Caan, actually in a lesser role.

It's about this rich woman who annoys everyone she comes into contact with, including her son, who, unknown to her for most of this film, has left her a note upstairs telling her to shove it and that he's off! He leaves the house, she's in the lift (which is a domestic one, hanging in the open) going up to read the note, but never gets there. She's had a hip replacement, I think, for the lift.

There's a power cut and the lift breaks down mid-height. She's trapped (and starts whinging and whining to herself - and the camera, as there is nobody else to show off to)! A tramp happens by, starts to work out what's going on and helps himself to valuables around her - then off to the pawn shop to fuel his need for booze. He has a female friend he ropes in, then they're both at it.

The owner of the pawn shops gets tipped off, so he's in on the act and James Caan and his friends overhear what's happening so the three of them jump in on the action, too! Meanwhile the snooty rich woman dangles in the lobby. I guess she's supposed to be annoying - so in that sense maybe good acting - but it feels like there's too much enjoyment going on for it to be just a show.

Anyway, James Caan's crowd have some time on their own in there so they start to enjoy the facilities of the house too - drinking, eating, bathing, smashing the place up and with all this, the place turns into Piccadilly Circus! It becomes a bit dark when they realise that the woman can identify them all, so they might have to do something permanently with/to her. (At which point the audience is egging them on!)

There is some suspense and (almost) a dark non-Hollywood ending - with messages in the mix about the distribution of wealth in society, but generally, as I say, it's a bit of a miss. Some of the acting (apart from her) is a bit dated/wooden, but generally that is more a sign of the era than bad acting.

You can see very clearly how and where they are trying to make it Hitchcockian, but I guess there's only one Hitchcock! Still kind of enjoyable and very nearly family entertainment for all - maybe not quite. Available on a handful of streaming services at the time of writing.

Tuesday, 1 April 2025

PodHubUK Podcasts for the Month of March 2025

...a roundup of our month of podcasting. Links to the team, communities and podcast homes on the net at the foot, so scroll down!

Tech Addicts 2025
Season 1 Episode 9 - The Powershot of Love
Sunday 2nd March
Gareth and I battle hangovers to chat about the Canon Powershot V1 and V3, alongside an aluminium vinyl player, Anbernic’s new ROM delivery app, an upcoming tablet from Oppo, a Pixel Penis, Google's Ghost Town, weather reports and another Basement full'o Bargains! Loads more as always so do join us!

Phones Show Chat
Episode 843 - Sony Special
Sunday 2nd March

Keith Bartlett joins Steve and I this week as we dive headlong into lots of Sony stuff and more. MWC is upon us tomorrow, so some thoughts on what HMD have announced already, Clicks for Android, Noreve for classy Cases, Plus a Nothing Phone and Photography itself under the microscope, deal-breakers - and loads more including a POTW from Steve.

Whatever Works
Episode 222 - Aidan's Back Again!
Tuesday 4th March

Aidan suffers but struggles through a recording with me (and then edits it) muttering "the show must go on, luvvie". Loads of stuff as always to feast on including non-alcoholic beer and Air Fried nosh, but no coffee this time - replaced with Fountain Pen talk as we squeeze the Handbrake tube too! Available now from the usual places, so do join us. Wishing Aidan a swift recovery. Poor sod. (No sniggering at the back now!)

Tech Addicts 2025
Season 1 Episode 10 - Mobile Meat
Sunday 9th March
Gareth and I present our Season Finale - the last show until 1st June! We mainly chat about Mobile World Congress 2025 this time. Folding phones from Samsung, TCL have a new NxtPaper tablet, Lenovo is charging ahead with solar, Xiaomi flagship fails to impress, Infinix go tri-fold and loads more - available now in the usual places. Have a nice spring everyone!

The Phones Show Chat Podcast
Episode 844 - 
Ted's Nothing Week!
Sunday 9th March
Chris Kelly tells us about all his Apple gear this week and how he'd like the firm to go one step further for him! I'm tinkering with the Nothing Phone world, CMF, buds, watch - and Steve has Top Tips, with a Dynamic eye on the iPhone 16e. Oodles more as usual, so do join us for an hour, available in the usual places.

Projector Room
Episode 181 - Gene Hackman Special (RIP)
Wednesday 12th March

Gareth, Allan and I are back once more but sadly, unable to bring you a full-length episode of Projector Room this time due to technical problems, but we did get our act together eventually in time to bring you one of the entries in The Final Curtain section, yes Gene Hackman. So we have a chat about him and his career for a while. Apologies for this, normal service should be resumed (fingers crossed) in two weeks.

The Phones Show Chat Podcast
Episode 845 - 
Mobile Tech: Officially an Addiction!
Sunday 16th March
Mark Surry joins Steve  and I on this week's show for the first time and we chat to him about all the phones that he's enjoyed and moved on (he's worse than us)! Tons of stuff here including my first impressions of the Sony Xperia 1 Mk VI that Mark sold me, also the Nothing Phone (3a), Steve's revisiting the Gemini and (somehow) appreciating Android's Doze Mode for his Duo! Loads more as always, so do join us for an hour.

The Phones Show Chat Podcast
Episode 846 - 
Ultra Imaging
Sunday 23rd March
Gavin Fabiani-Laymond joins Steve and I this week and we get a deep-dive on Gav's Xiaomi 15 Ultra and kit, which looks/sounds very interesting. I'm still playing with the Xperia 1 Mk VI and Steve, the Gemini/Cosmo combo. There's a new Pixel announced and some interesting looking new folding hardware - as we take flight from Skype!

Whatever Works
Episode 223 - Hazel's Hysteria!
Tuesday 25th March

Aidan and I are back with another hour's gutter-dredge for your amusement. Or ours. Not sure which sometimes! This time we take the Deep Heat, Roll-On OLights, linger with a Loofah, have a smashing time with car windows, suggest dubious uses for sheet rubber - and oodles more! Do join us, or we'll sulk!

Projector Room
Episode 182 - Adolescence Severance
Wednesday 27th March

Gareth, Allan and I are back again with a full-length version of the pod this time after somewhat chaotic fumblings with audio last time! Hopefully all is well now as we Gorge ourselves on Delicious Death and Porridge, feast on the work of the Coen Brothers, get Marooned in Paradise and loads more!

The Phones Show Chat Podcast
Episode 847 - 
Clumsy Santa!
Saturday 29th March
Last show was the end of the Skype era for Steve and I here on PSC and to Tech Tinker' with Microsoft Teams going forward, we welcome back our Tech Addicts friend Gareth for a natter. Seems to have gone swimmingly. Phew! So yes, we chat about bolt-on keyboards and nuclear batteries(!), I'm trying to live with a Flip Phone again, Gareth's on safe ground with a Sammy and Steve's deep-diving into Sony Photography with the Xperia 1 Mk VI. And loads more. As always!

Bonus Podcast
Sunday 30th March
Me, for the first time (in decades) on camera! Blimey. It was great to chat with Joe Hickey and Sam Ventimiglia regardless of my ugly mug being plastered all over t'internet! We nattered for just over an hour about all sorts of stuff and, as you might imagine, it was slightly biased towards Moto and Sony! Nice blokes though and we had fun. They do this every Sunday night, live. Scary! But also really interesting to have a live audience who can interact.


The Podcasts

End Times (2023)

End Times, the 2023 low-budget post-apocalyptic film, offers a viewing experience that, while flawed, manages to be surprisingly engaging. D...